Valve for clipping apparatus



15, 1970 K. A. KLENZ 3,545,756

VALVE FOR CLIPPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR.

MEL 4. KZHVZ BY M A TTOIFNEV Dec. 15, 1970 K. A. KLENZ 3,546,765

VALVE FOR CLIPPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet z I NVENTOR.

mm mm A. m/vz F I B'- -4-- ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,546,766 VALVE FOR CLIPPING APPARATUS Karl A. Klenz, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Rheem Manufacturing Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 762,288 Int. Cl. B23p 11/00, 19/04 US. Cl. 29-208 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a clipping apparatus adapted to deform a U-shaped clip around an article such as a sausage casing or the mouth of a flexible bag in order to provide a seal. More particularly the invention is directed to a clipping cylinder provided with a piston which urges a punch into engagement with the clip for deforming the latter. Heretofore it has been customary in clipping apparatus of the subject type to provide an air driven cylinder for forming the sealed clip and, in addition, to provide various types of valves and pressure controls for actuating the cylinder in timed relation to some other step in the sealing process. Since speed of operation is an important consideration in apparatus of the subject type it is desirable to reduce the time of each cycle as much as possible so that a maximum output may be provided for any time period. In many instances it is desirable to program the stroke of the clipping cylinder with air actuated members having other functions. For example, in US. Patent No. 3,237,366 there is disclosed an apparatus for vacuum sealing casings and the like which includes a gate actuated by air pressure prior to the actuation of the clipping cylinder. The apparatus of the above noted patent requires a considerable length of conduit and numerous valves which cause the speed of the operations to be sluggish and requires the entire apparatus to be less compact than is desirable. Also in US. application Ser. No. 762,289 filed Sept. 16, 1968 a clipping apparatus is dis closed wherein the closing of a gate and the translation of the clipping punch are programmed so that certain steps occur in timed sequence without human intervention. These devices usually require three or more valves external of the clipping cylinder itself and a substantial amount of conduit to carry out the steps to be performed, thus complicating the apparatus, increasing the number of fittings required, and resulting in slow operation since a relatively great volume of air must be moved through the conduits during each cycle.

The main object of the present invention is to generally improve clipping apparatus of the subject type and particularly to speed up the clipping operation and related functions and at the same time reduce the number of parts and expense of manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and from the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a clipping cylinder showing the head in a horizontal cross section and indicating a related function which in this case is the constriction of a sausage casing prior to the actual clipping step.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal cross section of the cylinder head.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken in a plane indicated by lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section through the head as taken in the plane indicated by lines 44 of FIG. 2.

The clipping cylinder, indicated schematically in FIG. 1, is generally designated 12 and this cylinder includes a piston 120 which is driven downwardly by air pressure and carries a punch 15 for deforming the sealing clip. More complete details of the clipping cylinder 12 may be seen in US. application Ser. No. 758,998 filed Sept. 11, 1968. The clipping cylinder includes a generally rectangular head generally designated which is secured in airtight relationship to the top of cylinder 12 by means of four bolts indicated at 204 (FIG. 2).

The head 100 is formed from a substantially rectangular block of metal and is provided with a pair of horizontally extending parallel through bores 101, 102 in which are slidably received spool valves 105, 106, respectively. The opposite ends of the head 100 are closed by a pair of end plates 103, 104 secured to the head by bolts 205.

High pressure air is conducted to bore 101 by conduit 109 and is conducted to bore 102 by means of conduit 110. The head 100 is provided with threaded holes for receiving said conduits and the diameter of said holes is reduced adjacent the bores as indicated.

Spool valve 105 is provided, centrally of its length, with an O-ring 206 which, upon actuation of the spool valve 105 is adapted to be positioned on one or the other side of a row of relatively small holes 207 which are drilled between the threaded hole of conduit 109' and the bore 101. By making the holes 207 small the movement of O-ring 206 past the same is facilitated and the sealing effect of said O-ring is not impaired.

At one of the opposite ends of the spool valve 105 the same is provided with a pair of spaced apart O-rings 210 and 211 which, in the right hand position of spool 105 shown in FIG. 2, straddle a row of holes 212 which extend from bore 101 upwardly through the top of head 100 (FIG. 3) thus acting as a vent to atmosphere when the spool 105 is moved to the left hand position of FIG. 2.

Similarly, the opposite end of spool 105 is provided with a pair of spaced apart O-rings 216, 217 which in the right hand position of the spool 105 in FIG. 2 permit the bore 101 to be vented to atmosphere through vertically extending holes 218 drilled through the head 100 into bore 101. In FIG. 2 it will be seen, when the spOOl 105 is translated to its left hand position against the end plate 103, that O-rings 216, 217 straddle the vent openings 218. In the position of the spool 105 shown in FIG. 2 the right hand end of bore 101 is connected by port 220 to a conduit 116 and the left hand end of bore 101 is connected by port 221 to a conduit 112. In the position shown it is seen that high pressure air from conduit 109 is con nected by head 100 to conduit 112.

Referring now to bore 102 in head 100, a pair of parallel rows of relatively small vertically extending holes 224 are provided between bore 102 and the interior of cylinder 12 at a point centrally of the length of bore 102. Spool valve 106 is provided at a point centrally of its length with an O-ring 226 which is adapted to be positioned on one or the other side of holes 224 depending on the position of said spool valve. Adjacent the opposite ends of spool valve 106 the same is provided with single O-rings 227, 228 respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 2 spool valve 106 operates to connect the interior of cylinder 12 with either exhaust outlet 111 or conduit 110. In the position shown in FIG. 2 cylinder 12 is vented through outlet 111 and when the spool valve 106 is shifted to its left hand position the cylinder 12 is connected by conduit 110 with the high pressure air as seen in FIG. 1.

At this point it will be noted that the valved head 100 provides a means for alternatively venting or applying air pressure to cylinder 12. The present invention is particularly suitable for use in a clipping apparatus in which there is performed one or more related functions in addition to the actuation of cylinder 12. In the particular arrangement shown schematically in FIG. 1 the related function is the actuation of means for constricting a sausage casing prior to the application of the sealing clip. A mechanism for carrying out this related function may be seen in detail in U.S. Ser. No. 758,998 filed Sept. 11, 1968. However it will be understood that the related function may be the closing of a gate as in the above noted Patent No. 3,237,366 or some other function related to the clipping operation.

The essential elements of the related apparatus as shown in the copending application are a gate structure 30 which carries one or more guide plates 41 and a die support structure 31. Said structures are translated from the outer position shown in FIG. 1 to an inner constricting position by means of air driven cylinders 27, 28. The inner ends of cylinders 27 28 are connected by means of a conduit 121 with a pressure control valve 117 which in turn communicates with port 221 in bore 101 by means of conduit 112. In the position of the valve shown in FIG. 2 it will be seen that the air under pressure is applied through bore 101 and regulator valve .117 to the inner ends of said cylinders 27, 28 thus normally holding the gate structure 30 and the die support structure 31 in spaced opposed relationship. These structures 30, 31 are urged toward each other to their operative position by introducing air to the outer ends of cylinders 27, 28 through conduit 116 which communicates with bore 101 in valve head 100 through port 220.

The cycle of actuating the constricting means 30, 31 and thereafter the cylinder 12 may be carried out in any desired manner such as by a manually actuated valve. However in the example shown in FIG. 1 a solenoid actuated valve 115, operated by a conventional stuffer (not shown), initiates the cycle by opening and introducing air pressure to the right hand end of bore 101 through conduit 122. This disconnects the high pressure air from the inner ends of cylinders 27, 28 and at the same time vents said inner ends through valve 117 and applies air pressure to the outer ends of cylinders 27, 28 through conduit 116. As the related mechanism 30, 31 is driven to its inner working msition the guide plate 41 actuates a normally closed valve 118 thus signalling the readiness of said structure to receive a clip by actuation of cylinder 12. Opening of valve 118 introduces air pressure through conduit 119 to the right hand end of bore 102 thus shifting the spool 106 from its cylinder venting position shown in FIGS. 1, 2 to the left hand end of bore 102 thus permitting air under pressure to be introduced into cylinder 12 through conduit 110 and vertically extending apertures 224 (FIG. 4).

Head 110 is formed with a conduit having a vertically extending portion 230 (FIG. 4) and a horizontally extending portion 231 (FIG. 2) leading through end plate 103 to a pressure regulator valve 123. When the pressure in cylinder 12 has attained a predetermined amount valve 123 connects said cylinder 12 with conduit 124 thereby applying pressure to the left hand ends of bores 101 and 102 returning the apparatus to its original condition to await the initiation of the next cycle by actuation of the valve 115.

As stated above, details of the structures 30, 31 not disclosed herein may be found in copending application Ser. No. 758,998 filed Sept. 11, 1968.

The head lends itself to the incorporation of a clip control mechanism which includes a shaft 96 (FIG. 4) carried by the piston and an adjustable nut 97 for varying the effective stroke of the piston. Reference is made to said copending application for details of the crimp control and other features not shown in detail herein.

It will be apparent that the above described invention results in an extremely compact clipping apparatus wherein most of the valving operations take place within the head of the cylinder thus obviating lengths of conduit which would otherwise reduce the speed of response of the device and result in sluggish action. Furthermore the simplicity of the above described cylinder head results in economies in view of the fact that numerous external valves and other fittings are obviated.

I claim:

1. In a clipping device of the type that includes a fluid actuated clipping cylinder having a piston connected with a punch at one end of said cylinder for driving a clip through a clipping stroke into sealing relationship with an article such as a casing or the like,

a cylinder head sealing the opposite end of said cylinder,

said head being formed to constitute a housing for a valve formed therein and adapted to alternatively connect said cylinder with a source of fluid under pressure and with an exhaust port.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said valve includes a port communicating with said cylinder, a port connected to said source, and a port connecting said cylinder with exhaust; and a two-position valve element for alternatively connecting said cylinder with said source and with said exhaust.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said cylinder is normally exhausted by said valve, means for shifting said valve element to a position connecting said cylinder with said source for initiating the clipping stroke, and means actuated by a predetermined pressure in said cylinder for returning said element to cylinder exhausting position.

4. A device according to claim 1 wherein said device includes a second cylinder for performing another func tion, and said head is formed to provide a second valve for actuating said second cylinder.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said second cylinder is connected to a constricting element adapted to constrict the cross sectional extent of said article prior to the clipping step, and wherein means responsive to movement of said constricting element actuates said first valve to connect said clipping cylinder with said source.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

